


Bloodstained Bouquet

by KasumiKamigawa



Category: Tales of Berseria, Tales of Series
Genre: Bloody Imagery, F/F, Hanahaki Disease, Hurt/Comfort, Laphicet is doing his best, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Velvet and Eleanor are self-sacrificing useless lesbians
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-01
Updated: 2018-03-01
Packaged: 2019-03-25 09:27:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13831296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KasumiKamigawa/pseuds/KasumiKamigawa
Summary: Hanahaki Disease: a disease in which the victim coughs up flower petals when they suffer from one-sided love. It ends when the beloved returns their feelings, or when the victim dies.





	Bloodstained Bouquet

Some days Eleanor wondered how this whole mess started. Thinking back on it, the warning signs should have been obvious.

It all started with that cursed sale’tomah flower. 

Actually, Eleanor realized, blaming this all on that flower would be incorrect. The sale’tomah flower dissolves in one's mouth and into the most horrid tasting substance the Exorcist had ever experienced, so any petals would've melted before being swallowed. Yet there was still an undeniable tickle in the back of her throat as Velvet approached her with legitimate concern lacing her words. Eleanor swallowed down the feeling -as well as the rest of the medicine- to tell her that she was fine, but only succeeded in gagging around her response. Still, to her surprise, Velvet smiled and gave her a firm pat on the shoulder before sauntering off towards Magilou, the concern in her eyes shifting to a more evil glint.

A warmth blossomed in Eleanor's chest as she watched the daemon walk away; an unfamiliar feeling that she couldn't quite put her finger on. 

That was, until recently. 

"My, my. And just who, my dear, has managed to curse your heart so?" 

The unexpected voice made Eleanor almost jump off the rear pier of their hideout in surprise. She spun around with a hand pressed to her chest, but relaxed to find it was only Grimoirh. 

"Oh, Grim it's you... Out for a late night stroll?” 

"Something like that," the normin hopped up onto the stone wall next to her and looked out over the water with a hum, spotting small white flecks floating in the ocean. She took the hand Eleanor still had pressed to her chest and flipped it palm up, revealing the fresh specks of blood staining the Exorcist’s white gloves. 

"You've been coughing up petals, haven't you?" 

Before Eleanor could even try to deny it, her body was wracked with a powerful coughing fit. Her shoulders shook with the force of it, and she brought her hands up to cover her mouth in a futile attempt to keep her secret from escaping. Petals spilled forth with every hack, and when she pulled her hands away she held a single full white lily amongst the mess. The petals were tinged red with blood, and Eleanor cringed as Grimoirh took the flower from her hands to examine it closer. 

"Dear, by any chance have you heard of the Hanahaki Disease?" The normin watched the girl slowly nod over the rim of her glasses, a knowing smile spreading over her lips. 

"Then you know what this is. A curse born of an unrequited love for another. So I will ask you again, who is it?" 

When Eleanor stayed silent, Grimoirh sighed "If you're worried about the person in question finding out, your secret is safe with me. It's not my place to tell Velvet your feelings-" 

"Wait, how did you-?!" The words slipped out before she could stop herself, and Eleanor groaned in defeat into her hands. She slumped over on the stone wall, staring out into the darkened ocean that surrounded Titania, "Am l that obvious?" 

"You have your heart on your sleeve. Luckily for you, you're not traveling with the most romantically savvy group out there,” Grimoirh took a seat on the wall next to her, turning the flower about in her hands, "How long have you been hiding this for?”

Eleanor straightened herself up, leaning on her forearms against the wall and twirling her fingers together, "I think the feeling has been there since around the time of our run in with the corsair's scourge, but the petals first started after the incident in the Palamides Temple. I guess that's when I first realized what these feelings were. At least unconsciously... I didn't want to admit it. My mother told me about the disease in a fairy tale long ago, but I thought it was only a story.”

"And yet here you are, with lilies blooming in your lungs.”

Another coughing fit followed as if in response, producing another fully bloomed lily with petals tinged in blood. Eleanor wiped at her mouth, "The full flowers only came on recently. After we visited Aball..." 

"You do know that means the disease is progressing, do you not?"

"I do, but...” Eleanor sighed, cradling the flower in her hands closer to her chest, "What can I do? Falling for a daemon was already unthinkable, and having Velvet of all people return those feelings is even more so. Then there's the surgery, which would be near impossible to get until everything is said and done without hindering the rest of the group," She stood up straight, stretching out her arms over the edge of the wall and letting the petals slip through her fingers into the ocean below, "For now, I have to endure it.”

“Stubborn girl, you are," Grimoirh took the girl's hand and placed the flower she still had into it before making her way back inside their base, "Your secret is safe with me, but please do tell Velvet soon. If you succumb to the disease, Laphicet goes too."

——-

Over the next few weeks, Velvet opened up to Eleanor more and more, making the Exorcist's heart soar and the flowers harder to hide. As the frequency of her coughing fits increased, the pain they brought worsened as well. Eleanor knew it would slip in front of someone eventually, but to her luck it was only Laphicet who found her lurching over the side of the Van Eltia late one night. They sat together on the deck for a while, Eleanor with her knees pulled up to her chest. 

"I'm sorry to worry you like this, Phi, but please keep this between us." 

Laphicet shook his head, looking down at hands in his lap, "I just don't understand why you won't tell her." 

"You know her better than any of us. Velvet already has so much weighing her down right now, and my unrequited feelings would just add on top of all of that."

The young malak looked like he had something to say, but he held his tongue. Instead he got to his feet and held his hands out for the Exorcist, "Well, l still think you should tell her. You shouldn't have to suffer alone like this.”

Eleanor smiled up at him and took his hands, letting him pull her to her feet, "Thank you, Phi. I'll... think about it.”

——-

By the time the group reached Meirchio, there was no doubt in Eleanor's mind that the disease had reached its final stage, the sharp pain in her lungs only bearable thanks to Laphicet's healing artes. While he still encouraged her to reveal her secret, he did what he could to help relieve her pain. Still, even with his help the Exorcist knew that it wouldn't be much longer until she needed the surgery. As long as she could just hold out until after the Scarlet Night...

She watched as Velvet released her daemon hand in front of the terrified townspeople to devour what was once the gate guard before addressing the people themselves. The citizens fled for their lives, leaving nothing but their footsteps in the snow behind. With a sigh, Velvet rebandaged her arm and turn towards the rest of the party. 

The Lord of Calamity act should not have been as attractive as it was. 

Eleanor winced at the thought, clutching her chest and wheezing a bit as a root poked at the inside of her lung. She swallowed around the blossom in her throat, hoping it'd be enough to stay the petals until she could get away from the rest of the group. All she needed was one more minute... 

Until Velvet suddenly dropped to her knees with a cry of pain, hands clawing at her throat and mouth.

Frozen in shock, Eleanor could only watch on in horror as Velvet began to retch. Blood and tears speckled the snow with each hack until finally the ground splattered in red. There in the middle of the mess was a bouquet's worth of roses. Large flowers in full bloom with bloodied stems and even bloodier thorns. 

Laphicet was the first to move, running to Velvet's side as she caught her breath with a healing arte already at his fingertips. She lifted her head to look between the group, but before anyone else could even lift a finger the daemon was back on her feet and running, brushing past Eleanor and up towards the hill that overlooked the town. 

“Velvet, wai-!”

The words caught in Eleanor's throat, turning them into a hacking cough that brought the girl to her knees like Velvet had been minutes before. Tears stung at her eyes as the flowers she tried so hard to keep down came spilling forth, white lilies resting in a puddle of blood just like the roses. This time, however, the others were quick to react. Rokurou placed a hand on her shoulder to support her as she sat back up with Laphicet right there with another healing arte 

"Hanahaki," Rokurou hummed, picking up one of the lilies, "A disease that causes the inflicted to vomit flowers because of an unrequited love. The longer it goes, the more the flowers grow, and by the looks of it the two of you have been keeping secrets for a long while. Haven't you?" 

“So you mean to tell me,” Magilou started, picking up a rose and twirling around, pointing the flower at Eleanor to punctuate her words, “That the two of you have literally been _dying_ to be together, and poor little me is over here alone and woefully single?! Oh, how cruel can the fates be?!”

“That’s enough, Magilou,” Eizen snatched the flower from the witch’s hand mid spin, paying no mind to her whining as he held his other hand out to help Eleanor to her feet, “Normally I’d say your personal lives are none of our business, but we’re going to need both of you back in top form if we want our plan to succeed. In a manner of speaking, both of you just spilled your guts right here, but that alone won’t fix this. You have to go tell her yourself.”

Once Eleanor was back on her feet, he handed the rose to her “No more secrets. You don’t need to suffer any longer.”

Rokurou handed the lily to her as well, clapping her on the shoulder as he walked past, “We’ll meet you two back at the inn. Now go get her.”

There was still the slightest bit of apprehension written on her face, but with a nod Eleanor took off towards the hill, following Velvet’s footsteps in the snow. Once she was out of sight, Magilou strolled over to Laphicet, “Hey, kiddo. I don’t believe for a second that you didn’t know about both of them. Why keep it a secret?”

The young malak shrugged a little, “Both of them made me promise not to say anything, and a promise is a promise.”

——-

Eleanor found Velvet at the plateau that overlooked the town, sitting on a bench with one leg pulled up to her chest. Keeping her hands behind her back, she slowly made her way over, “So, this is where you went.”

Velvet looked up as she approached, “What the hell are you doing here?”

“You ran off without saying anything, so we were all worried. I came up here to make sure you were okay,” The Exorcist stopped a few steps shy of the bench. Hesitantly, she held the rose out to Velvet, “So... Roses?”

Amber eyes narrowed dangerously as Velvet snatched the flower from her hand, “If that’s the reason you’re here, then you can turn around right now. It’s bad enough I spilled my secret in front of everyone. I don’t need pity from any of them, and especially not from you.”

Eleanor bit her lip and took a slow, steadying breath, “That was not my intention. If anything, I can empathize with you,” She held the bloodstained lily out with trembling hands, “Though admittedly, I can’t even begin to imagine how much the thorns must hurt.”

She held her breath as Velvet’s face darkened in realization. The daemon lowered her eyes to the rose in her hand, turning it between her fingers. “... You, too? So, who was it? Oscar? Teresa? One of the other Exorcists that I’ve already killed?”

“What? No, it’s nothing like that.”

“If that’s the case then who-,” Velvet cut herself off, quickly standing up, “Actually, I don’t want to know. Why should I care about your unrequited love life? I have my own problems to worry ab-“ She tried to brush past Eleanor, but was stopped by a forceful coughing fit. She dropped to her knees, barely registering when a pair of hands caught her mid fall and brought her gently to the ground. More roses, large and thorny, decorated the snow by the time her coughing subsided, and Velvet found herself being supported against a warm body as she caught her breath. 

“Better now?” Eleanor asked after a minute, brushing back Velvet’s bangs. The dark haired girl could only nod and slowly get to her feet, uncharacteristically refusing to look the Exorcist in the eye. She looked so tired. The entire journey had been physically and mentally exhausting enough on its own for Velvet, but suffering with the disease on top of everything else was unbelievable. The thought shot a pang of guilt through Eleanor’s heart as everything clicked into place. She stood up and reached a hand out towards the other girl. She should have listened to Laphicet. Velvet didn’t need to suffer. Neither of them needed to suffer. If only she hadn’t been so ashamed of herself at first for falling for a daemon, or so afraid of holding everyone back with her disease. If only she had realized long ago that-

“You’re in love with me, aren’t you?”

Velvet looked like one of the roses still inside had stabbed her in the heart. She was silent for a long moment, torn on what to say, and Eleanor found that she was holding her breath once again as she waited for the answer that she already knew, but needed to hear.

Finally, Velvet sighed, “Is there really any point to trying to deny it anymore? No matter how hard I tried to lock my feelings away, they kept finding their way to the surface in one way or another. I knew it was impossible, that they would never be requited. How could they? A daemon falling in love with an Exorcist. How laughable! How the mighty Lord of Calamity has fallen...” She looked to the other girl, amber locking with emerald, “Yes. Eleanor, I’m in love with you.”

For the first time in months, Eleanor felt like she could breathe easily. The lilies that plagued her seemed to vanish from her lungs, and the tears fell before she could stop them. Velvet reached out with worry and regret written clearly on her face, but was caught completely off guard when the redhead tossed her arms around her neck and desperately pressed their lips together.

The kiss was uncoordinated, and Eleanor could still taste the blood on Velvet’s lips as it mixed with her tears, but she couldn’t bring herself to care about anything else other than those lips on her own. After the initial shock, a shaking hand found its way up to cradle the back of her neck, and Eleanor sighed blissfully into her partner’s mouth. When they finally broke away, she buried her face in the taller girl’s neck.

“I love you too, Velvet. Oh, god, I love you. I kept it to myself for so long, and I made you suffer because I was too afraid to admit it to you. Afraid that I’d just become a burden to you and everyone else. I’m so sorry...”

“Hey, now. Don’t go blaming all of this on yourself,” Velvet’s voice was soft in her ear, and Eleanor pulled away just enough to see the daemon’s face light up in a way she never had before, warm and lovingly, “I made you suffer as well thanks to my own insecurities. We were both pretty dumb.”

The Exorcist chuckled a little, wiping the tears from her eyes, “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

A gust of wind ruffled the two of them, making Eleanor shiver, “It’s getting colder out. We should probably head back. The others are waiting for us back at the inn, and they’re probably starting to worry by now,” She reluctantly started to pull away, but squeaked in surprise when a bandaged hand pulled her back in. Warm breath tickled against her ear that made her shiver in an entirely different way.

“The others can wait. I’m not done with you yet.”


End file.
